Painting apparatus.



J. S. GILMER.

PAINTING APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED APR- 6.1916.

Patented Jan.1,191&

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I l. S. GILMER.

PAINTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION map APR.6- 191s.

Patented Jan. '1, 191&

2 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

mmws.

JAMES S. GILMER, OF KKOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.

ramrme APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. A

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

Application filed April .6, 1916. Serial No. 89,443.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES S. GILMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee, have invented a. new and usewhich the following is a specification, reference ,being had to the accompanying drawing.

My improvement relates particularly to zipparatus for applying paint to surfaces by a spraying operation, air under pressure being used to drive the aint in liquid-form from a reservoir or tan through a tubular passa e and out of a nozzle, and for finely dividing or spraying'the stream of paint while it issues from the nozzle.

One of the objects of the improvement is to provide an efiicient ap aratusjfor. thus spraying paint upon sur aces which arelocated at various distances from the opera'tor. A further object of the improve ment is to provide an a paratus by means of which the quantities 0 paint and airescaping from the apparatus may be increased or diminished in unison or as to either. further object of the'improvement is to provide an apparatus which is adapted to easy cleaning of the interior passages. 5

As a means for cleaning the portions of the apparatus in which the paint is contained orthrough which the paint. is made to travel, a reservoir for containing benz ine or similar cl'eaning liquid is preferably made a part of the apparatus. The paint tank is preferably portable. I

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is an elevation of aJpQrtion of an apparatus embodying my improvement; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the portion of the mechanism not shown in F g. 1, the

same being the portion which is termed the.

s e c F g. 3 1s a sectlon on the l1ne, 33, of

Fig. 4 is an upright, longitudinalsection of the rear portion of the gun shown in Fig. 2; p

Fig. 5 is a sectionon the line, 55, of Fig. 4, looking toward the right. Referrin to said drawings, A is a paint tank. In t e form shown in the drawings,

this is an upright, sheet metal, hollow cylindeiclosedat both ends and supported on. a

truck comprising two carrying wheels, B, B,-

and a body or frame, O, having a handle,

' D, and a foot, E, adapted to rest on the ground or floor.

A pipe, F, extends downward through the head or upper end of the tank and reaches almost to the bottom of the tank and its lower end is open. The opening in the tank head through which said pipe extends is made tight to avoid the passage of liquid or air. On said pipe, outside of" the tank is a cut-off valve, Gr. One end of a hose or other flexible pipe, H, is secured to the outer end of the pipe, F, and the other end of said hpseiis secured to the pipe, I, of the gun, hereinafter described. Said hose may be of any desired or convenient iength suited to the distance at which the gun is to be worked from the tank. For example, if the apparatus is to be'used forpainting railway freight cars, said hose should be long enough to permit the gun to be positioned for painting a considerable portion of the surface of the car without moving the paint tank.

A pipe, J, is tapped through the upper portion of the tank and extends only a short way into the tank. On said pipe is a cutoff valve, K, and on the end of said pipe is one member of an air hose coupling, L, such as is used for coupling sections of air conducting hose used in air brake systems and for similar purposes.

In the upper portion of the tank is a plug, M, which may be removed for 'pouring paint through a funnel or similar device into said tank. On said plug is a relatively small stop cock, N, which may be opened for the discharge of-air from the interior, of the tank when it is. desired to bring the air within the tank to normal density.

When the tank has been nearly filled with paint, the plug, M, and thefstop cock, N, x

for the discharge ofpaint through the pipe,

F, and the hose, H, after the cut-ofif valve, G, has beenopened, said paint being pressed through said pipe by the expansive action of the air in the upper portion of said, tank. When so much painuhas been driven through said pipe as to increase'the air space above said paint and correspondingly reduce said pressure to such extent as to weaken the flow of paint be nd the practical limit, the out.

off valve, may be closed and the cut-off valve, K, opened and air again introduced through the pi c, J, and the cut-off valve, ,K,

I again 0 ened.

then again clo ed and the cut-oil valve, G,

O is t e handle of the gun. shown in the drawings, this is made of wood and elliptical in cross-section lFig. 3) and has at each end a ferrule, 0 car its upper end, the handle is surrounded by a metal strap, 0, the ends of which are placed parallel to each other above the handle and secured by bolts or rivets, 0, one penetratin said ends close to the handle, and the ot er being farther out and extending through said ends and a rocking lever, 0 located between said ends, one end of said lever being approximately parallel to the attached to the pipe, F, at the paint tank,

as already described. a

The upper or forward end of the pipe, I,

' is connected with a valve chamber, Q; The

. into a head,

body, Q of said chamber is a cylindrical tube, the rear nd of which is screw threaded Above the tube, Q said head has a chamber, Q into which the pipe, I, is tapped from the rear. Said chamber comrviunicates with the interior of the body, Q}, t e tube, 1 being cut away' opposite the chamber, Q Opposite the forward end of the pipe, I, a removable plug, Q, is placed into the wall of the chamber, Q, and in the upper wall of the chamber, Of, a similar plug, Q is placed. By' removing the plug, Q, the interior of the pipe, I, is made accessible for cleaning, and by removing the plug, Q, the interior of the chamber, Q

and the adjacent portion of the barrel, Q},

is made accessible for cleaning.

On the opposite end of the tube, Q is a tubular head, Q", screw threaded on said tube and interiorly screw threaded at its forward end. Between its ends, the bore of said'head is contracted to make a valve seat,

Q which receives the forward end of a valve stem, Q), the rear end of which'extends slidably through the head, QF. W ithin the tube, said stem bears a stop pin, Q), and an expanding coiled spring, Q surrounds said stem between said stop pin and the head, Q, and tends to press said stem forward to its seat. At the rear of the head, Q, a packing device,

stem. An angle piece, Q 3, has an arm 10- In the formand a tubular forward head, R k which, as above stated, receives 7 valve stem, R

Q surrounds said cated parallel to said stein and extends slidably through the lower portion of the head.

movement of said angle piece. By turning the ring, Q, the valve stemis rotated in the angle piece and the latter moved end Wise on said stem. In this manner, the distance between'the stop pin, Q andthe head, Q may be varied for varying the rearward movement of the stem, whereby the extent of the valve opening may be varied. This permits the operator to so adjust these parts that, pulling on the ,ring, Q, until the stop pin, Q engages, leads to the desired volume of flow of paint through said valve. When that is done, it is unnecessary for the operator to take pains to accurately maintain proper positioning ofthe stem by control of the finger which engages the ring,

Q At the valve seat, Q", a cleaning plug,

Q, is tapped through the wall of the tubu-' lar head, Q. When said plug has been -removed, the valve seat and adjacent port1onsare accessible for cleaning.

-The.upper forward end of the pipe, P, is

screw threaded into an oblique branch, R

- on a valve chamber, R, which is parallel to the valve chamber. Q. Said chamber, R,

and a'rear head, R",

comprises a tube, R

The

branch, R

' the forward end of the pipe, P, is a lateral extension of the tube, R}.

The rear portion of the forward head, 3*, is screw threaded around the forward-end of said tube, and the forward end of said head is interiorly screw threaded to receive the threaded rear end of a barrel section, as will be described below. Between its ends, said head has a valve seat, R to receive a valve head, It, bn the forward end of the r p Said stemextends slidably through the rear head, R On said head is a packing device, It, surroundingfisaid stem. The rear end of said stem extends to the link, 0 already described, and 1s coupled thereto by a pin, 3*. An expanding coiled spring, R surrounds'the stem between the heads, R and R and tends tothe ipe, J, between the valve, K, and the coup ing, L. (See Fig. 1.) A cut-ofi' valve, V, near the pipe, J, may cut off communication withthe pipe, S. It has already been explained how the pipe, I, has communication with the paint tank and how air pressure is applied to said tank for driving said paint into the pipe, I.

A barrel section, T, is screw threaded into the forward end of the head, R, and extends forward approximately as far as doesv the forward end of the head, Q

Two barrels, U and V, extend forward from the head, Q and the barrel section, T. The section, U, is screw threaded into the head, Q, and its forward end is bent downward and then upward and supports a nozzle, U, which is adapted to discharge oliquely forward and upward. The rear end of the barrel, V, is joined to the front end of the barrel section, T, by means of a union coupling, T The forward end of the barrel, V, is close to the forward end of the barreL-U, and bears a nozzle, V adjacent the nozzle, U and said ends of said barrels are so shaped as to cause the paths of discharge from the nozzles to intersect. From the union, T and the head, Q", the barrels, U and V, approach each other until they meet and then continue in such rela tion until the barrels are bent to give the nozzles, U and V their positions and proper inclination to each other. The portions of the barrels which meeteach other are rigidly secured to eath other by solder or'similar means, U The barrels are long relative to the handle, O, and the valve chambers, and the barrel section, T. A plurality of pairs of barrels of different lengths may be used interchangeably on tlie'hcad,

Q, and the barrel section, T.

To attach a pair of barrels, the union,

T, is adjusted to'allow the rear end of'the barrel, V, to pass transversely over the end of the barrel section, T Then the rear end of barrel, U, is threaded into the head, Q", by rotating the pair of barrels, the barrel, V, revolving around the barrel, U. When the barrel, U, has been thus attached, the rear end of the barrel, V, is brought into alinement with the barrel section, T, and the union coupling, T is then adjusted to join said members.

The handle, 0, the rocking lever, 0 and the eye Q, of the valve stem in the chamber, Q, are of such size and are so grouped as to permit one hand of the operator to grasp the handle and the link and the lower portion of the rocking lever, while the other hand grasps the gun at some forward portion. Thus one hand can support a portion of the gun and control the flow of paint and also the flow of air, either being turned on independently 'of the other, if so desired, and the quantities varied relative to each other. If so desired, the air blast may be used by itself forcleaning the surface to be painted, and the paint and air afterward used in combination.

In the apparatus which 1 have made and put into practical use, the pipes, P, I, T, U, and V, are composed of iron and have. an inside diameter of one-eighth of one inch, and the handle, 0, of the gun is about six inches long with a longer diameter of one and five-eighths inches, while the length of the gun from the forward end of the handle to the nozzles, U and V is six feet and three inches. As stated above, the barrels,

U and V, may be detached and longer barrels substituted.

d When the apparatus is to be idle, the interior of the hose, H, pipe, I, valve chamber, Q, barrel, U, and nozzle, U are to be cleaned by bringing into action portions of the ap: paratus as will be next described.

The cleaning-liquid tank, W, illustratedby Fig. 1' has at its upper end a plugged port, W through which benzine or similar cleaning liquid, preferably a solvent of paint, is poured to fill the tank. At its lower end, a pipe, W leads out of the tank and may receive hose, H. A cut-off valve, W", is located on the pipe, W near the tank. A pipe, W leads from the upper end of the tank and is provided with acut-oif valve, W. The flexible pipe, S, is disconnected from the pipe, P, and is coupled to the left hand end of the pipe, W. On the pipe W between its end and the pipe, W is a the nozzle, U into a bucket or other .receptacle, whereby the paint is saved. When the paint ceases to fiow,'the valve, W 15 closed and the valves, "W and W opened, so as to drive air into the top of the benzine tank. This drives a stream of benzine through the pipe, W and the paint hose, the pipe, I, the chamber, Q, barrel, U, and nozzle, U said benzine dissolving and washin paint. The benzine thus discharge is saved by being caught in a receptacle.

Then the valves, W and W are again closed and the valve, W", agamppened and air again driven through the paint passages for drying said passages. It has already been stated that the paint valve and the air valve of the gun may be out the j o erated independently of each'other, and

I t at at times it is desirable to discharge a stream of air from the barrel, V, without discharging paint from the barrel, U.

, Furthermore, when the paint is driven out of the hose, H, the pipe, I, the chamber, Q, and the barrel, U, by the use of benzine or other cleaning liquid, no'air is to be driven through the air barrel, U. For such air. would spray 1e and scatter the paint and the cleaning liquid instead of permitting them to flowinto a receptacle. Thus it is apparent that it is important to have the paint valve and the air valve of the gun operable independently of each other and by the hand of the operator which holds the gun handle.

The handle, 0, and the pipes, P and I,

i and the valve chambers, Q, and R, and the pipe, T, together constitute the body of the gun to which the rigid barrels, U and V, are

detachably secured, the barrels. being long relative to the body of the gun, and the body being adapted to receive, interchangeably, pairs of barrels of different lengths. This 2 permits the operator to stand at a considerable distance from the surface to be painted and to move the discharge ends of the barrels through an extended range.

I claim as myinvention,-

1. In an apparatus of the nature described,

the combination with a gun comprising means forming an air passage and means forming a paint passage and valves for controlling said passages, of a tank adapted to contain paint under pressure, a tank adapted to contain cleaning liquld-under pressure,

means for conveying air under pressure, tubular means for normally connecting said a1 r conductmg means and the meansform- 40 the air passage of the gun, and detach-.

e tubular means normally connecting the paint tank with the means forming the paint passage of the gun, the rearend of said tubular means for connecting the paint tank with the means formin the paint pasg'un, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the nature described,

' the combination with a gun comprising mean fOrmmgJan' a r passage and means forming a paint passage and valves for con'- ,trolling said passages, of a tank adapted to contain paint underpressure, a tank adapted to contain cleaning liquid under pressure, means for conve mg an under pressure, tubular mean or normally connectlng 60. said air conducting means and the means formin the air passage of the gun, and

' detacha letubular means mrmally connect ing the paint tank with the means formin the paint assage of the gun, the rear en of said tu ular means for connecting th of the gun and connecting with the outer end of the pipe leadmg from paint tank with] the means forming the paint passage of the gun being also connectible v alternately to the means for delivering com ressed air and to said cleaning liquid tank or alternately drivin air and cleaning liquid through said 'tubu ar member of the paint passage of the gun, substantially as described. 1

j 3. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination with a gun comprising means forming an air passage and means forming a paint passage and valves for controlling said passages, of a tank adapted to contain paint under pressure, a tank adapted to contain cleanin liquid under pressure, detachable tubu ar means normally connecting the paint tank with the means forming the paint passage of the un, a pipe leading from the lower portion 0 the cleaning. liquid tank and having it outer end adapted for connection with the rear end of said tubular means, a cut-off valve on said ipe, a pipe having one end connected to the ast-mentioned pipe between the *outer end thereof and said valve andhaving its other end adapted toreceive air under pressure, a branch leadin from saidpipe into the upper portion 0 said tank, a valve on said branch, a valve on said pipe between said branch and said end, and a valve on sald pipe between said branch and the pipe leadmg from the lower portion of and tank, whereby said apparatus is adapted for the detaching of the rear end of said tubular means normally connecting the paint tank with the means forming the paint passage said rear end the lower portion of the cleaning liquid tank and then alternately driving air and cleaning liquid. through said tubular means and the paint passage'of the gun, substantially as described.

' 4:. In-an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a paint tank, an air inlet, a cleaning-liquid tank, a gun comprlslng an air barrel and a paint barrel and valves for controlling admission to said barrels, and means for interchangeably formln communication between said tanks, an n st and as described.

5. In an apparatus of the nature descrlbed,

the combination with a painttank, an air inlet, and a cleaning-liquid tank, of a gun comprising a tubular' passage for paint, a hose adapted to be connecte by one end to ,the rear end of said paint passage and to have its other end put into commumcation interchangeably with 'the paint tank and the cleaning-liquid tank and the air inlet,

and means for formin communication between the air inlet an the paint tank and between the air inlet and the cleaning-liquid tank, substantially as descr1bed.,

115 the'paint'barrel of said gun, substantially 6. Inan apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a gun comprising means forming air and paint passages and valves for controlling said passages, of a flexible tube having one end applied to the rear end of said paint passage, an air inlet, a paint tank, and a cleaning-liquid tank, an induction pipe leading into the cleaning-liquidtank, a tube for connecting said induction pipe with said air inlet, an eduction pipe leading from the lowerportion of said cleaning-liquid tank and'adapted for connection with the rear end of said flexible,

'tube, a by-pass pipe leading from said induction pipe to said eduction pipe, a 'cut-ofi valve on said by-pass vpipe, a cut-ofi' valve on said induction pipe between said by-pass pipe and said tank, and a cut-off valve on said eduction pipe between said. by-pass pipe and said: tank, substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus of the nature described,

the combination of a gun body comprising two'valve chambers, a valve stem slidably extending into one of said chambers and adapted to be engaged by the operator, and

. means applied to said stem and adjustable thereon for limiting its rearward movement,

substantially asdescribed.

8. In an apparatus of the nature described, I the combination of a gun body comprising two valve chambers, a rotary valve stem Iii slidably extending. into'one of said chambers and adapted to be engaged by the operator, and means threaded to said stem for limiting its rearward movement, substantially as described.

' 9., In an apparatus of the nature described,

the combination of a gun body comprising two valve chambers, a valve stem slidably extending into one of said chambers and adapted-to be engaged by the operator, an angle member having one arm vslidable in said head and the other joine'd adjustably to said stem, and means for limiting the to the gun body or communication with one of said passages and the other of said barrels being secured to the gun body by as -movement of said angle member, substanthe nature de its rearend threaded means of a union coupling for communica-' tion with the other of saidpassages, substantially as described. In testimony whereof I have signed in name, in presence of two Witnesses, this l4t day of February, in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixteen.

. JAMES s. simian, 

